Used Remington 788 in .308 or New Savage Axis in .223

I own a Savage Axis .223 - with a Nikon scope mounted on it..........

It is a fine rifle, nothing special in the finish department but it performs well.

HOWEVER, if I were faced with your choice, the 788 would win hands down. IMO, the .308 is more suitable the .223 as a deer round, and the 788 is the better built rifle.

Hopefully the deal works out for you.

A good piece of wood makes a real difference.

wished I could find a 788 in .22-250, they are scarce....dont know if they were ever chambered in .257 Roberts, but that would be a helluva combo.

With the ammo included that decision would take me less than a second. Pick up the .308.

Nice deal!

You made a fine deal. Be sure to post some later once you have had it out and shot it.

Awsome. Nice looking setup and with the ammo - wow! You struck gold.

Of course all is not perfect - that bolt IS on the wrong side,

I'd probably go for the 788 for the caliber. I have no use for .223. However, if you do, the Savage will likely have a much better trigger. The 788s were very accurate, have fired a half dozen over the years, though I never owned one. BUT, the trigger sux and I don't THINK is adjustable, but I could be wrong on that. Might can replace it, don't know. Someone might have already answered this question, haven't read all the posts, yet.

All in all, I'd take a Savage in .308.

See you got it. CONGRATS. Really, I dealt with the trigger on 'em, just didn't care for it compared to my higher end Remmies which are set to a nice, crisp 3 lbs. If it's adjustable, not a problem anyway. They were budget guns, but damned good shootin' budget guns. I remember a .22-250 I sighted in for a fellow, 1/2 MOA with cheap factory ammo he had for it, don't remember the brand. I was impressed.

788 you fool!

Sorry to be blunt, but you can't beat a rifle made back when they were made to last...even the economy class firearms.

The 788's have had their faults, but have gained a well deserved following. There have been reports of their safeties not being as positive as they could be, and I've even heard legends of people breaking the bolt handle...but I don't think I've ever found someone who this has ACTUALLY happened to.

My dad shoots a 788 in 22-250, and my experiences with it have been, well...awesome. The trigger is very nice, and the gun will group better than a 700. Yeah, I said it - BETTER than a 700!

And I know that .308 is a pricey round to kill paper with

Click to expand...

At least you can still buy it, unlike the .223. I got 3 boxes at Walmart this weekend, and also found it at Gander Mtn and my LGS. The early 788's had walnut stocks, maybe you will get lucky (actually you are already lucky to have this offer). The .223 can kill a deer, but when your 170 lb. 10-point buck of a lifetime steps out at 175 yards, quartered away from you, with his head down eating, you don't want to be holding a .223.

Very nice, you made an excellent deal. Now we need a range report...........

Nice one

Well done!

Nice pick up, enjoy it and let us know what you think of it. Wyohome that is a nice looking stock.

Good choice. I have a 788 in 6 mm Remington that I got when I was in university in the mid-70s. It is not for sale.

With the right handloads, it will shoot 0.5 MOA all day.

A couple of things:

The finish that Remington put on the stock of mine went soft and you could scrape it off with a fingernail. So, I removed the stock and put about 8 coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil on it. While the rifle was out of the stock, I relieved the barrel channel to float the barrel and sanded off some of the sharp corners on the pistol grip. It looks a lot better, and floating the barrel did help.

My magazine rattles a bit as well. However, since buck horns rattle while they are fighting, I have never worried about it. Putting any additional pressure on the receiver (as in Duct tape) may make the accuracy in consistent.

While the rear locking lugs and fast lock time help the accuracy, the action is not as strong as the Remington Model 7/700 actions. Factory loads should be fine, and the quality of the factory ammo today is very high. BUT, If you plan to handload, I suggest you start low and work up to the maximum slowly. I found this out the hard way while using some Ken Water's load information (If he said it was maximum, it was) and had to hammer the bolt handle open after a primer let go. The good news is that the gas porting works. However, seeing smoke come out of the action will get your attention.

If the scope is mounted low, it is possible that the ejected cases will hit the windage adjustment knob cover. Check the scope mount knob cover for little dings to see if this has happened. This is easily solved with higher scope mounts.

Enjoy. You got a very good deal.

AWCherry Glad you picked the 788 for such a great buy. Get you a couple exta mags with the money you saved. I use a pick of green wood when hunting to wedge between the mag and bottom metal to stop any rattle when hunting. I bought mine new in 1976 I think. Nice buy.

I don't like the magazine rattle in mine either, especially if I am slipping quietly thru the woods. The redneck fix is a piece of cardboard, like from a cereal box, folded and inserted beside the mag after the mag is inserted.

For range use I don't care about the rattle.

And actually the protruding mag is kind of a pain too, when walking with the rifle slung over the shoulder.

But all in all, for the price I paid for mine 20 years ago, as did you now, and the accuracy you should see out of it, NO COMPLAINTS

788

Warning!!! Warning!!!! You gotta be careful with these dang things, they tend to multiply on you!!! Bought a 788 in 6mm, looked in safe year or two later and BEHOLD all of a sudden theres 3 of them, dang. Got 1 in 7mm08 and one in 308 as well as parent 6mm !! One thing though they are well behaved and do their chores very well. Good luck on your steal of the day.

You got a steal! Fantastic gun for a fantastic price